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Survey "What Sony Alpha Do You Have?"


Your Sony Alpha Camera  

630 members have voted

  1. 1. What Sony Alpha Cameras do you use?

    • Sony Alpha 7 / 7R / 7S
      342
    • Sony Alpha 6000 / 5000 / 5100
      189
    • Sony Alpha 3000
      7
    • Sony NEX 7 / NEX 6 / NEX 5T
      58
    • Other Sony NEX
      27
    • Sony Alpha SLT
      121
    • Sony Alpha DSLR
      98
    • No Sony Alpha until now
      10

This poll is closed to new votes


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Started with this ( my father's )

Yes, separate meter and the little box besides it is a rangefinder ( to measure subject distance )12978865514_2ab56d28b9_b.jpg

Then after a summer job, i was able to afford this in 1973

8223060824_3dc1b01eeb_b.jpg

Just could not afford a real SLR myself. My father purchased a Minolta SRT102 with a MC Macro Rokkor 50mm F3.5 in 1972 ( this kit actually cost about 5 months of mortgage payments at the time) and i was allowed to borrow it around the house. Stil have it.

 

Next purchase was a Minolta Maxxum 7000i in 1988 with Minolta's AF 28-85, 70-210 and 50 Macro.

Soon followed by a discontinued Maxxum 9000

I found the AF system somewhat missing in Macro so i later got myself a full bellows kit along a couple of MF bodies ( X700, X-570, XD-11 )

Then a Maxxum 700si in 1991 as it came out along with 5400HS flash ( first with HSS and my intro to WL TTL)

With the kids arriving and all the house chores, could not really touch new stuff until 2005 when i got my first digital camera,a Minolta Dimage A200 ( nice but so much slower reacting than a true SLR that i consider it was a mistake since a Maxxum 7D would have cost not much more. Then as i learned Minolta was going out of the photo market, i rushed to get one of the last Maxxum 7D's i could find since at that point i had 13 AF lenses. Still have it.

News that Sony was introducing new digital SLR still with A-Mount got me reassured and jumped on a A700 in 2008

Since then added A900, A77, then NEX-7 (to re-use my old Minolta MC lenses and bellows ) 

Jumped again on A7r just as it was introduced since i can now use all of these Rokkor lenses in native mode.

14965562608_1d0d6aae24_b.jpg

I also have a very complete flash collection dating back late 50's so i must be getting old since in my lifetime as an amateur, i have seen appear:

TTL metering

Auto mode ( A-Mode and S-Mode and P-Modes)

Auto wind of film

Sensor auto flash

TTL auto flash

Wireless TTL autoflash

HSS

Autofocus

When i need to relax, i try all sorts of old equipment to see how it compares with today's stuff

15049800417_cb7971f166_b.jpg

10089245703_6592e24a6b_b.jpg8712858350_3948a157f5_b.jpg

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I have a Sony Alpha SLT55 which I really love.  I plan to plan a full frame Sony, but I am confused about the future of the A99 and A lenses.  I would love to have any information available about what Sony is going to do next for a full-frame camera-  A99 successor, or drop the A lens bodies and go forward only with the E lens series.  Anyone have any info on this?  Charlie McCallan (user cmccallan).

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My first camera was a Canon copy of the Leica 2 and was purchased by my father after WWII in Japan.  I don't know what became of it, but my first exciting experience using it was on a middle school field trip to the United Nations in New York in the sixties. Later, I picked up a Minolta SRT-101 which I loved and shot with while on a college newspaper while doing liberal arts at a state college in Connecticut.

 

I eventually ended up at Brooks Institute for college, becoming trained as a professional and worked in the advertising field for a number of years from the mid-70's to mid-80's.  The first camera we trained on at Brooks was a 4x5 view camera, then a medium format and lastly a 35mm.  I had a Toyo 4x5 view camera with a Majestic tripod that must have weighed about 25 lbs - it was massive.  We used to carry our view cameras and tripods into the foothills of the mountains on assignments and take hours to set up shots back then.  At that time carrying your equipment was a workout!  My medium format cameras were both Mamiyas - a twin lens and an RB-67 single lens bellows focusing 120 roll film camera.  It was quite solid and heavy, and really better in the studio than the field.  My 35mm was a Nikon F4 with motor drive,  with 50mm 1.4 prime and 80-200 zoom.

 

I had long since changed careers when the digital revolution came along and I picked up the first commercially available digital camera, the Logitech Fotoman, which had one button in the middle and captured 200x300 pixel B&W photos. Then came a long succession of digital point and shoot cameras from Canon, then Nikon, and finally Sony.  I owned the R1 which I loved, but eventually ended up with a series of Nikon DSLR's since I like the grip and ergonomics better than Canon, personally.  Over the past five years I gravitated to Sony and just sold off the last of my Nikon equipment (a D7000) in favor of the A7, which I shoot alongside an a6000, RX10, and RX100M3.  I find a use for them all, taking family pics, as well as landscapes, architecture and street photography.  Absolutely love the quality, flexibility and range of the newest Sony cameras.  Can't wait to see what they come up with for the new pro camera in the Spring, so I'll be following Sonyalpharumors for the lastest!

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Hi, I have the Sony NEX 7 and the Alpha 7. I really enjoy taking photos with the mirrorless cameras because they are small and they give me a great quality photo. I never thought I would own a full frame camera. The cost of the A7 allowed me to do that. The cameras are small and light which allow you to carry them around all day with out feeling like you have an anchor around your neck. I mostly use the a7 now and am very pleased with the quality of the photos I get from this camera. I started out using Canon but found they were getting to heavy for me to carry around.

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Started with a Minolta XD11 .. loved this camera and the X500.

Moved on to Minolta AF A mount with the film 7 and Digital 7D ..

 

Tried many Sony A Mount cameras .. good cameras but could not quite bond with them... A100, 320, 700, 55V, A900

Then the NEXs came ... very nice and compact 5N, 7, 6 ... the 7 and 6's EVF made it difficult to enjoy the A900 as much... but still could not bond with the NEX series

 

Until I got my A7r... Wow!!  the first Sony I truly bonded with, like my Minolta XD11 and 7D. Spectacular High Resolution and image quality, Very good Hi-Iso, Full frame depth of field, a high quality EVF, great manual focus support, custom f/dedicated buttons, and  E, FE and A Glass/SLT Adapter support... all in a compact, well made body similar in size to my old and still working Minolta XD11 :-)

 

But what makes the A7r even so much sweeter is a non-Sony device - the Voigtlander CloseUp Adapter.. effectively giving me manual Z-Shift Close focusing for all my M Mount Voigtlander lenses or M Mount adapted Rokkors, L39, M42 lenses.  It just brings an additional dimension to all these legacy manual focus lenses...and brings back the joy of using those fantastic Rokkor lenses again.. like the 58mm f1.2 and the 100mm f2.

 

I sold my E and APSC A lenses and bodies... but very glad I did not sell my old lenses.

 

Waiting for the A7r ibis version or what the A9 brings :-)

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I started with a Lubitel in the sixties, and changed my DSL Olympus recently for an a7S.

Getting older I do not want to carry a lot of weight anymore.

Use it for street and landscape and for theatre and concerts, where I do not like or can not use a flash.

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Pentax for decades, Sony from few years, first try with a Nex C3, Nex 6 for about 1 year.

 

Very happy with the Nex6, great upgrade from C3, and the next step will be A7s.

 

What's great in the Nex 6, and it's relatively low MP count, it's is very good compatibility with wide "classical" glass.

 

Results are nice with Voigtlander 15mm for instance, no color casts.

 

So i've set up a nice collection of Voigtlander glass, I love their nice rendering. (15mm, 40mm, 75mm, and the Ultron f2/28mm is coming soon ;) )

 

Some examples there : https://www.flickr.com/photos/nex6sigma/

 

Best regards to you all !!!

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I started with the A100 (or perhaps the DiMage 700i before that). After 2-3 years I upgraded to the A700 the day it was released and used it for three years. Then I got the A77 the day it was released and use it for another three years. Then I decided to go FF last summer but chose to wait a while to see if the A99ii would be released. It wasn't, I got impatient, and after some deep thinking I got the A7s and LA-EA4 and kept all my A-mount lenses. I'm lovin' it! 

 

I also had the NEX5 and then the NEX7 as sub-cameras and used them a lot but never really fell in love with them. I had quite a few E-mount lenses too, including the 20/2.8, 35/1.8 and 50/1.8, a couple of kit zooms, the Sigma 30mm and 60mm etc. But ultimately I never really was taken by any of them. Got rid of all NEX stuff about a year ago and didn't miss it. 

 

Now I'm using what is technically an FE mount body but for me and my usage it is an A-mount body. Don't know if I'll get any FE mount lenses or not. My A-mount collection is so good that it would be a long time before equivalent glass is even released for FE mount and it would cost way more than I can afford.

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My first DSLR was a Sony A200, upgrading from a Canon point-and-shoot digital compact; this brought a massive improvement in quality obviously, going from 2MP to 10MP. Used the A200 with its kit lens for a while and then bought a Sigma 10-20mm f4 ultrawide zoom lens which cost far more than the camera had (I'd also bought a secondhand Sigma 18-50mm to try rather than use the 18-70mm Sony kit lens and saw a minor improvement in image quality). Having invested in a fairly expensive (for me!) A mount lens I later upgraded to the A580 which is still my main camera (with the A200 retained as a backup).

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I strated with a Minolta, went the 9000, 9xi and 9 route, then moved to the Konica-Minolta 7D, then the A100, A300, A900 and now just love the A99.

I have legacy Minolta lenses (28-70 G, 70-200 G, 85 G, 500, 50, 20 and a few other "oldies"), Sigma (15-30, 35 f1.4), & Sony 70-400 I. 

 

I have all this equipment in a glass cabinet in my office and love toying with it !

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I have Sony A55, Sony A35 and Sony RX100 mk2.

 

I use A mount because I like using and testing different lenses. E mount's lens database is not wide enough for my taste yet. I prefer 35/55 over other alphas because they are very small which allows me to carry my camera everywhere without dealing with bulk of bodies like 77 or 99.

 

I use RX100 mk2 because its the best compact camera and no camera can top its compactness/photo quality ratio.

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I am one of the numerous Leica R owners who were betrayed and still neglected by Leica. I'm a still video photographer who doesn't need video at all but wants to re-use s shere treasure of Leiva M- and Leica R-lenses. If the Leica Digital Modul R wouldn't have been such a ridiculous item at an atomic Price, it could have been "my" Thing.

So I'm in an ugly hope that the A7mII, or even better, the "A9" will be "my" great photographic tool.

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Hello every one and my best regards to SAR Admin,

 

thanks for the great job you are doing.

 

By the way, after owning the Sony A3000 converted to IR and my wonderful Sony A6000, i expect to buy next year the Sony A9.

 

IQ, compactness, great design are reasons why i bought Sony camera ( Nikon could be a second choice but they dont have worthy mirrorless for me, M43 is too small sensor in my opinion and Canon is bling bling with not so good IQ for a decent price)

 

Long life to SAR!!!

 

ian

 

PS: i own the Sony LA-EA4 so i don't have any complain about the Sony Lenses roadmap as i will be able use both A or E Mount lenses ( i even find the use of LA-EA4 more safe for the camera with a long lens)

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Originally I was a Minolta user and then switched to the A100 , A350 and then A55V which I still have.

 

I have never liked the Sony A55 for three reasons:

There is back focusing with my CZ 16-80 lens but it's fine with the kit kens. (Adjustments to the Phase detectors are very difficult and are within Sony's loose tolerances anyway.)

The SLT system reduces IQ significantly overall , plus some white edges don't look right.

Slow GPS

 

Then I bought a tiny RX100 which made me look at Sony in a new light.

 

Horrible little thing to hold but the IQ is amazing and it puts my m4/3 sensors to shame.

Such is my enthusiasm for the 1" sensor that I was happy to buy a Full Frame A7 with kit lens.

 

Well , I seem to have acquired a good copy of the 28-70mm as it has exceeded every report that I'd read. 

The lens is so good that I won't be buying the CZ version and the body with lens is still lightweight and easier to handle than my m4/3 Olympus gear.

In fact the resolution I get from the kit lens compares well with my Fuji X100S - my favourite camera of all time!

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We are curious (maybe you are too...)

 

What Sony Alpha Do You Have?

 

And leave a comment why you are using it...

 

Thx

Andreas

 

Started with the A700 in 2008, because at the time it had the best price/performance compared to other brands available for me. Then bought more lenses, and was obliged to stick with the A-mount, Now I also have the A580, A77, A570. Keeps me from changing lenses too frequently. Ohan Janikian

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Original Minolta user, I started out with my father's Minolta XD-7, which he kindly gave to me after seeing my interest in photography.

 

My first A mount camera then was a Minolta Dynax 800si, which I used for a good 15 years before fully moving from slide film to digital in 2010, with an intermezzo with a Konica Minolta Dynax 7D mostly used as backup to the 800si.

 

In 2010 I decided to move over to digital and bought the A850, a natural move as I had quite a lot of Minolta lenses. Funnily I had to reinvest into new lenses as the excellent A850 sensor really exposed some flaws of my cheaper Minolta/Sigma glass (bought the 24-70 2.8 CZ & 70-400 G).

 

As I was more and more involved into shooting wildlife, I bought an A77 when it came out. Bought the A77 MkII this year and I have to say that this one is in another league. Love it paired with the 70-400 G lens.

 

Just recently acquired an A6000 for traveling a bit lighter (well, I also have the RX100 Mk1, which is excellent but has its limits) and I am quite delighted so far. Ordered the 10-18mm and fooled around with my old Minolta Rokkor lenses from my very first SLR ;-)

 

Attentively following the recent news on the E-mount front on SAR, quite interesting times with Sony!

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I started with a film Minolta SRT101 in 1974 ( actually I had a Leica M2 before that, which was stolen with the 2 lenses I had - 50/2 and 90/2, both Summicron ). I then went through Minolta's X-700, Maxxum 7, 7i, 7si. Started digital with Minolta Dimage 7Hi, A1, then Minolta 7D, Sony A100, A300, A700, A900, A77. Now have A99, A7 and A6000! Planning for an A7II ( or A9? ) by Christmas 2015. I have several Minolta, Sony, Tamron , Sigma and Tokina lenses plus many accessories.

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Bought my Sony A58 last year. It was my first DSLR style camera so the learning curve took a while. Thought about upgrading recently to a A77ii but image quality comparisons don't seem much better than the A58? Anyone have both of these cameras to compare?

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I currently have an A99 with an RX100 in the pocket.  I am looking to move up to a camera with an amazing dynamic range and 36 megapixel + sensor count and an adapter to use my A-mount lenses.  Looking forward to 2015.

 

Si

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  • Posts

    • Thanks for the very useful information. The 16-55 tempts me, I can live with the absence of stabilisation, what holds me is the price tag. As always, there is not such a thing like a free lunch in life. The Sony gives performance at a reasonable size but with no stabilisation and higher price tag, the Zeiss is compact, stabilised and reasonably priced but lower performed, while the Tamron provides performance at very good price and stabilisation at the expense of bulkiness. 😀 All in all, I think I will give a try to the Tamron, once I have taken in my hands. Here are two cutouts taken close to the center of the picture. The sharper one is the kit zoom, the other is the 18-105 mm, at approximately the same lenght around 40 mm at /f 8. The difference is impressive and more impressive for me is that all the lenses in the shop had the same behaviour on two different cameras. At this point looks like a whole batch and not just a lens.  

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    • That's a pity and certainly doesn't match with my experience with the 18-105: mine is definately on par with the 16-50 kit lens (which on its own was as decent as I could expect from such a cheap lens). Sure, dont expect sharp corners especially wide open, but in the center my 18-105 left little to be desired across most of the zoom range. The 16-55 does beat it in every regard except zoom range though. The Tamron 17-70 trades blows with the 16-55 and might be the better choice in some cases. I went for the 16-55 because of the smaller size (I also found the 18-105 too bulky most of the time) and slightly wider FoV. My camera has a stabilized sensor so stabilized optics was no requirement for me. As you noted, I kept the 18-105 on my old A6000 for the occasional video project.
    • Thanks! The 18-105 mm /f4 was PERFECT lens for my needs but a HUGE disappointed. I bought it with the camera, then I brought it with me on a trip. To my disappointed, all pictures came out slightly blurred, like the lens was slightly out of focus. Stepping down was not solving the issue. The kit lens was definitely better, to my surprise. Thinking that I got a lemon, I went back to the shop where I bought It (luckily, I has bought both the camera and the lens in a brick and mortar store). We tested the lens on another camera and it was the same. Then we tested other copies of the same lens that the store had in stock and all showed the same lack if sharpness. All pictures slightly out of focus. In the end I returned the lens and used the money to buy other equipment. I must admit that it was a perfect lens for video but it is not what I use my camera for. Actually this was confirmed by the shop owner, most buyers of the 18-105 mm are interested in its video capabilities. I will have a look at the Tamron, the Sony 16-55 is almost double the price, at least here, so I will keep it out of the picture, at least for the time being. The Sigma also looks as an interesting option.  
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